Observations of Unusual Postsunrise Interhemispheric Geomagnetic Conjugate Super Plasma Depletions at Midlatitudes During the Recovery Phase of the November 2003 Superstorm
Abstract This study reports an extreme ionospheric plasma depletion event over the Eastern Pacific from postmidnight to early morning during the superstorm's recovery phase on 21 November 2003 observed by the DMSP F13, ROCSAT‐1, GRACE, and CHAMP satellites, and two ground‐based GPS receivers. The depletion and its interhemispheric geomagnetic conjugate effect occurred between ∼40°S and 40°N geomagnetic latitudes. This suggests a possible extremely long‐range flux tube connection with an apex altitude exceeding 6,000 km over the geomagnetic equator. Notably, the observed altitude for midlatitude depletions of equatorial origin in the morning is the highest ever reported. Previous studies have primarily observed the extension of equatorial plasma bubbles to middle latitudes in the post‐sunset hours. The continuous upward vertical plasma drift, supported by ROCSAT‐1 and TIE‐GCM simulations, may drive the unprecedentedly strong latitudinal extension of these midlatitude plasma depletions in the midnight‐to‐morning sector.
Authors
- Bingkun Yu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2758-1960)
- Xianghui Xue (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4541-9900)
- Tao Yu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3327-3526)
- Tingdi Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8399-4084)
- Hailun Ye (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8371-9760)
- Baozhu Zhou
- Xiankang Dou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6433-6222)
- Chi Long (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5045-2027)
- Yang‐Yi Sun (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4228-0672)
- Jianfei Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3998-9296)
- Wen Yi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3717-6811)
- Chong Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8763-465X)
- Zezhong Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6850-0819)
- Jianyuan Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5600-050X)
Institutions
- University of Science and Technology of China (CN)
- Guizhou Normal University (CN)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- China University of Geosciences (CN)
- National Engineering Research Center of Electromagnetic Radiation Control Materials (CN)
- Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Space Weather
- Published
- 2025-02-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1029/2024sw004240
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.31
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities